Ok pretty sure this is going to be another one of my top reads of this year. It felt like a fantasy story with sci-fi elements mixed in and was just so wonderfully original. I was initially going to mention that I thought this story had echoes of Star Wars, buuuut that probably just reflects how shallow my actual sci-fi knowledge is instead of anything about the story.

ANYWAYS this whole story is SO WELL DONE. The basic idea is that Amani is kidnapped by imperial droids because she looks exactly like the cruel princess. She's taken off her home planet and forced to start a new life as a stand-in who will impersonate the princess at public events and wherever there might be trouble. Amani grows close to "her" fiance, who initially doesn't realize that she's not the princess. After the two travel to a distant moon and encounter more of the rebellion, Amani decides to use her position aaaand gains a lot more agency...

The writing was absolutely wonderful, the story flowed perfectly, the settings were really vivid & creative, the romance totally worked, and the characters were all well developed & realistic. I loved how complex the princess was. Even characters who weren't in a ton of the story, like Aziz & Husnain, were really strong!

And I was just so thrilled to see a well-rounded story that had a full plot arc on its own, yet still set up the sequels perfectly. You can totally get into this one without worrying about having to wait for a sequel for the plot to deliver!

The back of the book mentions the author's interest in Arabic poetry and I think that passion really came through in the story. Every element of this gorgeous, creative world worked together perfectly to create a truly original story that I think fans of SO many genres will enjoy!!

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